


Let's Play Pretend

by im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Acting, Adult Content, Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Bottom Michael, Boys Kissing, Cashton can't keep their hands off each other, Cheating, Drunk Sex, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Flirting, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Nudity, Pretend, Romance, Sexuality Crisis, Smut, Some Humor, Top Luke, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:17:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9810971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance/pseuds/im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance
Summary: Luke was happy with his boyfriend Alex; their lives were simple and easy, with lots of happy-filled moments. Then came Michael, who decided to play pretend for a while and be his twin; being the playful one, it was all in good fun and no harm was intended. But somehow, Luke was liking the new Alex, who was wild on a whole other level, and it was like he was falling in love all over again. When he realised the person he had been spending so much time with, was not Alex but Michael, he did not put an end to things; he wanted more of what Michael had to offer.





	1. Gotcha

**Author's Note:**

> So, I posted this before and I took it down but I got some request to put it back, so here it is. Enjoy...  
> This is an alternate version of ['Trapped Under Your Spell'](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9398279)

The smile that Luke had on since he had left home was even brighter as he knocked on the door to his boyfriend’s apartment and he quickly ran a hand through his hair, smoothening them. He had been away for a whole week and the moment he got back, there he was, standing in front of that familiar door, the same one he always found himself at whenever he was not busy. He patiently waited for the other boy to get the door after ringing the bell twice and the moment the door flung open, Luke jumped on the other boy and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, smiling as he inhaled his boyfriend’s scent in the process.

“Alexander… how are you, Love?” Luke smiled when he pulled away slightly.

Michael hesitated for a second but then decided to hug the other boy back; another person got deceived by how alike his twin and he looked. “I’m good. How are you? Baby?” he said the last word with uncertainty, not exactly sure what nickname Alex had picked for his boyfriend.

That, of course, went unnoticed by Luke, who closely followed Michael inside and pulled the other boy into another hug, once the door closed behind them. “I missed you so much.”

Michael laughed nervously and again hugged Luke back before quickly pulling away. “I missed you too. I’ll be right back, Babe.”

“Babe?” Luke mumbled to himself when the other boy disappeared into the kitchen. Alex never called him like that before but Luke decided to shrugged it off; there was always a first time for everything.

“Hey Alex, I think your boyfriend is here and…” Michael smiled playfully.

“And? Mike, what did you do?” Alex also smiled. “Did you pretend to be me again?”

“No, I didn’t have to. He thought I was you,” Michael laughed. “You think we can fool him a little longer?”

Michael smiled as he recalled all the times they had fooled others, sometimes just for fun and sometimes to give them a hard time. Like that time when they were in kindergarten and Michael already had lunch and pretended to be Alex to eat again; he did not really remember that one but their mom always talked about it. Or the other time when Michael had a test and Alex and he had switched classes because Michael had not studied. Or the other times where they had so easily fooled their parents. Those were the perks of having a twin. Michael let his mind drift to Luke and he wondered whether Luke would know if he pretended to be Alex.

They had not switched places in forever and Michael wanted to know if they could still do it convincingly and get away with it or they would get caught. Alex and he were different now; they were adults, they liked different things, they dressed differently and they had different personalities. When they were kids, Karen used to dress them the same and bought everything same for both of them but things started to change when they became teenagers; although the bond they shared had never changed and they were still as close as they used to be. They may have been wearing different kind of clothes for a while but at that moment, they were wearing identical pyjamas that Michael had gotten them and if someone saw them in different places, they would say they were the same person.

Michael nudged Alex. “Let’s do it.”

“No,” Alex firmly said and left. “Hey, Sweetie,” he smiled as he walked towards Luke and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I missed you.”

Luke pulled away and looked at the other boy, with a smile. “You said it already.”

Alex was going to raise an eyebrow but then he realised it was probably Michael, who had told Luke that. “I know I did but I’m saying it again. I missed you.”

“Me too,” Luke said while stroking Alex’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “Wanna go to the movies tonight?”

“Yeah, that would be great. We can even dine out,” Alex proposed. “But for now, I’m gonna get you something to eat,” he pulled away when he heard a grumble in Luke’s stomach.

“No, we’ll get breakfast later. For now, I just want to cuddle.”

“It’ll only take a couple of minutes, I was already making coffee. Be right back.”

Luke sighed when Alex again disappeared in the kitchen; he only wanted to spend some time with Alex but his boyfriend was always busy, especially with work.

“Are we doing it?” Michael asked, the moment Alex was back beside him.

“For the tenth time, no,” Alex shook his head and poured two cups coffee.

“Why not? Where is mischievous Alex? Who are you? Give me my brother back,” Michael moved closer to Alex and poked him in the ribs continuously.

He had only been gone for two years and things were already looking different. After he had dropped out of his literature classes at uni, Michael had stayed at home, figuring out what he should do next because literature was clearly not his thing; unlike Alex, who had chosen to complete his journalism course and even pursued his dream career as a reporter. It had taken time but Michael finally went to get a degree in acting instead. There he was back home and he felt there were so many new things he had to learn.

“Stop being childish,” Alex warned, pushing Michael’s hand away and trying to hide his laughter.

“I’ve always been a child at heart. Just say yes, five minutes.”

“This is not like school or some kid games or something, this is my boyfriend we’re talking about.”

“Don’t worry, he’s in safe hands. You should trust me. And besides, I’m not into guys.”

Alex sighed; he knew Michael was not going to give up. “Fine, five minutes.”

“You’re the best.” Michael grabbed the toasts that Alex made and placed them on a tray, along with the coffee before taking it to the living room, where Luke was lounging on the couch and flipping through the pages of a music magazine that he had brought along. “What are you reading?” he asked as he sat beside Luke.

“Nothing, just music stuffs,” Luke shrugged. “Come cuddle?”

Michael grinned and wrapped his arms around Luke’s middle, pulling him closer. “You smell nice.”

Luke also wrapped his arms around Michael and sighed happily. “And you smell like…”

“Like I haven’t had a shower yet,” Michael laughed and caused Luke to laugh too.

“Ahem… am I disturbing or something?” Alex asked from the doorway.

Luke immediately pulled away and looked back and forth between them, confused. “What’s going on?”

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” Michael chuckled from beside Luke. “I’m Michael.”

“I… huh… I…” Luke stuttered; he had heard a lot about Alex’s brother before but he had never met him. “You guys look so much alike.”

“Do we?” Michael got up and walked to Alex before wrapping his arm around the other boy’s shoulder. “Do we now? I never realised. Mom should’ve told us, I feel betrayed.”

“Don’t mind Michael. He’s just… that’s how he is,” Alex pushed Michael away and walked to Luke.

“Does he always pretend to be you?”

“Hey, I don’t pretend to be him, it’s a mutual agreement,” Michael corrected.

“You mean you always convince me to be part of that,” Alex stated.

“Oh come on, just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you have to blame me for everything,” Michael threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes.

“Is he always that dramatic?” Luke whispered to Alex, who nodded.

“No whispering, I’m right here,” Michael said loudly. “So, Luke, you’re a writer, I hear.”

“Yeah, I write stuffs but nothing important yet.”

“I’m sure you must have something because Alex praises you all the time,” Michael said and grabbed Alex’s coffee.

“Get your own.”

“Sharing is caring. We’ve always shared everything. We’ve been sharing things since forever. We even shared a uterus,” Michael laughed when he looked at Alex and Luke’s faces.

“Michael, don’t be gross,” Alex made a face. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“I get it folks; I’m not needed here. I going out anyway.” Michael took a big gulp of the coffee before going to his room.

“Please don’t mind Michael. He can be a bit straight-forward sometimes,” Alex grabbed the plate and handed it to Luke.

“Don’t worry, I think he’s funny and he seems nice.”

“Yeah, he’s nice but he can be a bit crazy at times. I’m glad he’s back.”

“Umm… Alex? There’s something I have to tell you,” Luke slowly said.

“What is it?”

“I was thinking that maybe we could spend some more time together. You’ve been so busy. Do you think that maybe you could take a break or something?”

“I’m always here,” Alex laughed. “And we’re going out tonight, which is great.”

“Alright guys, I’ll see you later. And Alex, don’t wait for me tonight, I might be late,” Michael again walked into the room and said as he took a buttered toast and grabbed his phone from the table.

“I hope you didn’t throw your clothes everywhere in your room because I’m not gonna clean-up for you.”

“I’ll do it when I get back.”

“Michael when will learn…” Alex sighed because the door had closed before he had time to finish his sentence. “That boy I tell you.”

**Next Morning...**

Michael groaned as he again rejected a call and tried to get some more sleep; he had partied until the early hours of the morning and that obnoxious phone was ruining his sleep. His head was still buzzing from the amount of alcohol he had consumed and he was in desperate need of sleep but that phone was again ringing. Who was calling him at that time? He pretty sure it was not even eight and on normal occasions, when he had gone out drinking with Calum, his childhood friend and best friend, late afternoon would be the time when he would finally get out of bed. Another ringing tone and Michael was officially awake. He again rejected the call, without checking who was calling, and rubbed his eye with the back of his hand as he walked to the kitchen to get a drink.

Michael dropped himself on the couch and sipped at a glass of water, happy that the headache was not as severe as he had anticipated. He slouched down, almost spilling the water on himself, and cursed before setting the glass on the table. That was when a blank paper caught his eyes and he reached for it to realised it was not blank after all; it was a note from Alex. Why would Alex leave him a note when they stayed in the same house?

_Hey Mikey_  
_Sorry you were still sleeping when I left_  
_And I didn’t want to wake you up_  
_So that’s why I’m leaving you this note_

_Don't know if you went to the kitchen yet_

_I left you some aspirin on the counter_

“Don’t tell me you ran away the moment I’m back? It’s not fair, I was looking forward to spend time with you,” Michael whined.

_I had this important assignment and I had no choice_  
_I’ll be out of town for a few weeks_  
_And yes, I know you must be mad at me for leaving_  
_But I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back_  
_One more thing, I didn’t really know how to tell Luke_  
_And I was hoping that when he’d come by_  
_You’d ease him into it_  
_You know, don’t just blurt it out to him_  
_Go gently because I don’t want him to be upset_  
_I hope you’ll be wise for once_  
_And I’m counting on you_  
_Thanks and love you little brother_  
_Alex_

Michael rolled his eyes; that was not a note, definitely not, that was a freaking letter. He was still hangover and he should be in bed but instead, he was reading Alex’s letter. Why leave him a letter when he could have texted him? He knew Alex was obsessed with writing but the note was a little bit too long for his liking. Then something caught his attention; the letter was nothing useful to him because Alex wanted him to inform Luke about his trip.

“Great Alex. The moment I’m back, you’re using me. I love you too but I’ll get you for that. How am I supposed to deal with your boyfriend? I barely know him,” Michael yawned. “We’ll think about that later. Right now we need more sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep,” he kept mumbling as he walked back to his bedroom, in a zombie-like way.

The moment he closed his eyes, his phone was ringing again and that time, he decided to see who it was because it did not look like the person would stop calling. “Hun Bun?” Michael creased his eyebrows. “Who the hell is Hun Bun?”

He stared at the name across the screen, unable to decide if he should pick up or not. He did not save anybody’s number as Hun Bun on his phone, unless it was somebody from the previous night. Michael shook his head at that thought, he had never given anyone his number, no matter how much he had ever been drunk. It was then that he noticed he had seventeen missed calls from that mysterious Hun Bun, who seemed to have taken a liking to him. He scrolled down in his contact to find Calum’s number, only to realise there were names in there that he did not know.

“That’s not my phone,” Michael said as he stared at the device. “Alex, you have my phone. Why do you have my phone?”

Then it hit him; he must have taken the wrong phone from the table when he had gone out the previous day. Calum had been telling him that he had called several times but he did not get any because he was holding on to the wrong phone and since Alex was gone for a few weeks, he would have to deal with that phone itself. As if on cue, the phone again rang and Michael cursed at the device. He would talk to Hun Bun, who he concluded was Luke, later. For the time being, he would just turn it off and sleep.

 


	2. I'm Not Who You Think I Am

Calum dropped his bag on the couch and walked to the kitchen, where Michael had walked to, after opening the door to let him in. Smiling when he saw Michael behind the counter, actively preparing something, he walked to the fridge to pour himself a glass of apple juice before taking a seat on the chair, at the round table. “Where’s Alex? He texted me and told me to meet him tonight.”

“No,” Michael turned around and smiled as he wiped his hands in a towel. “I texted you. He was making out with Luke on the couch yesterday and I accidentally grabbed his phone, which was next to mine. Bummer, right? That’s why I didn’t get your calls or texts last night.”

“Making out on the couch? With Luke? That’s new.”

“Well, they were not really making out,” Michael said as he looked at Calum. “Their lips were barely touching,” he finished with a laugh.

“Seeing how hot and good looking Luke is, I would never have thought he would be as boring as Alex is. So disappointing.”

“For you, yeah.”

“Why didn’t you get your phone back?”

“That’s the thing, Alex left early this morning and I was still sleeping. He took my phone along and went out of town. The worst thing is that I had this massive hangover and Luke kept calling every five minutes.”

“Does Alex know he has your phone?” the brunette asked as he took a sip of his juice.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to him. I don’t know when he’s busy or not working. Fuck, I don’t even know where he is.”

“Working probably, that’s all he ever does,” Calum laughed. “What about Luke? Does he know you have Alex’s phone?”

“I don’t think so and I don’t think Alex called him because he left me that ridiculously long letter,” Michael sighed as he thought about it and what Alex had asked him to do.

“A letter? That’s romantic,” Calum snickered. “What were you making? It’s smelling nice and making me hungry.”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” Michael wriggled his eyebrows as Calum rubbed his palms together.

“Is it ready yet?”

“Yes.”

“Great, let’s serve it. So, are you gonna tell him you’re Michael?”

“Duh, of course I’m gonna tell him I’m Michael,” Michael shook his head as he shoved a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. “Anyways, even if I don’t, he’s gonna realise I’m not his boyfriend when he comes over. I’m pretty sure that will be soon since I’m not returning any of his calls or texts.”

“Yeah, but imagine the things you could do with him if you pretend to be Alex,” Calum smirked. “That body of his…”

“What? I don’t wanna pretend to be Alex. And I don’t think about Luke like that.”

“He’s hot, like really hot.”

“Fuck off! He’s my brother’s boyfriend and I’m not interested. Besides, I don’t swing that way.”

“You’re lame. Why am I not Alex’s twin?” Calum sighed.

“Because I am.”

“If I was, I’d definitely have had him, at least once.”

“Can we stop talking about Luke now? Or how hot you think he is? Why don’t we talk about me instead? Did you miss me while I was away?”

“No, not really.”

“Ouch, that’s embarrassing and mean and not cool. I’m really hurt. You’re my best friend, Cal. You, out of all people, should miss me.”

“If only you had given me the chance to. I mean, we skyped every single day.”

“Yeah, but you still should have missed me. I wasn’t here physically,” Michael pouted and took another bite.

“You want to get physical? I don’t mind,” Calum laughed.

“You’re hopeless. I believe getting dump is really taking a toll on you. You’re going mad.”

“Can we not talk about that jerk? I was having such a good time.”

Michael apologised when he recalled the whole tragic story that Calum had told him about how his ex of three years had dumped him after Calum had caught him in bed with another guy. At first, Calum was a little shaken but eventually he had moved on because at the end of their relationship, things had not been going quite well; they had drifted apart and a break up was obvious. Still, Michael wished he had been there for Calum but he could not drop out of university again and even though he was far away, he did his best to try and cheer the brunette up. Once that conversation had been pushed aside, they started talking about old times and crazy things that they used to do as kids; also planning what crazy things they would do next.

**1 Hour Later**

Michael cursed as _his phone_ vibrated from under his thigh and tried to ignore the ticklish sensation against his leg while trying to keep his eyes on the screen. Calum and he were playing a car racing game, which he was winning, but the vibrating phone was disturbing him and disrupting his concentration. Whoever was calling would have to wait because Michael knew it was not important since it was not his phone. He groaned as he missed a turn and Calum overtook him. As he again overtook Calum, the phone again rang and he almost dropped his controller, causing Calum to snicker as he again took the lead. It was a matter of seconds before Calum won the race and jumped in the air with a triumphant grin.

“If it’s Luke, I’m gonna kill him,” Michael said angrily and took the phone in his hand. He scoffed as he turned the screen towards Calum to show him the caller: Hun Bun.

“Who’s that?”

“Duh, Luke, who else?”

“Pick up if he calls again.”

“No, I don’t even know how to tell him Alex is away.”

Calum bit the corner of his bottom lip mischievously. “You don’t have to. Just pretend you’re Alex.”

“For the hundredth time, no. This is a bad idea. I’ll just ignore him. He’ll eventually stop calling.”

“It doesn’t look like he’s gonna stop calling. I’m not saying you should pretend to be him for long. All you have to do is answer the phone, say it’s Alex and tell him you’re away and you’ll call him yourself. Done, he’ll stop calling.”

“I barely know him. What if I mess up and he gets mad at Alex because of me?”

“Alright, alright whatever,” Calum shrugged. “What about that girl you were dating while you were away?”

“We broke up before I came back because she thought I was not spontaneous enough and I’m not right for her.”

Calum laughed at that statement. “You and not be spontaneous? That’s ridiculous.”

“I know. I guess she just wanted an excuse. Anyways, I’m so over her. I’ll probably find someone better.”

**Two days later…**

Luke sighed as he tried to keep his calm; he had been trying to call Alex since the previous morning and all the other boy did was, ignore him. Taking a deep breath, he dialled the number again and waited for an answer. His wait ended when he was sent straight to Alex’s voicemail. Letting out a frustrated groan, he threw the phone in the backseat and crossed his arms over his chest. Ashton glanced sideways at him and shook his head. For two days, Luke had been complaining that Alex was not talking to him and he was sure if he asked him anything, that will be the beginning of another rant.

“This is the limit Ashton, I’m telling you.” Luke muttered, his anger apparent in his tone.

“Yeah, you’ve been saying that since the morning and then five minutes later, you end up calling him again.”

“How can someone ignore you that many times? I must have called him fifty times already.”

“If someone calls me fifty times in a row, I’m definitely going to start ignoring him too,” Ashton snickered. “I’d even think you’re sick, only a sick person would do that.”

“It’s not funny.”

“Don’t you think you’re being annoying and clingy?”

“No, I’m just being a good and responsible boyfriend. I care about him and I wanna know if he’s alright.”

“If he wasn’t alright, he’d have called you. Maybe he’s busy… give him some space.”

“Busy? How busy can someone be that he can’t answer a phone call? He could simply say hi or ask if I’m alright. It doesn’t take a minute.”

“Maybe he doesn’t wanna talk to you then. Or he’s fed up and wants to move on.”

“No, you’re wrong…”

Although he had confidently answered Ashton, deep down he was not so sure about himself. What if Ashton was right? What if Alex did not want to talk to him anymore? What if he was tired of having him around? Alex was always busy with work the past weeks and they barely met each other but was he really busy? Or was work only an excuse? He had known Alex for nine months and although Alex was not very outgoing, he was very straightforward with whatever he was dealing with; he would not have lied to Luke if he did not want to spend time with him. Something was definitely wrong and Ashton was not helping, even though he might be right. No, he was not right. Luke shook that thought out of his head; Ashton always had the tendency to create doubts in the back of his head for no real reason and he was not going to let that happen that time.

“Hey, where are you lost?”

“He’s not sick of me,” Luke repeated.

“Ok, if you say so… why isn’t he answering your calls then?”

Luke bit his lip. “Huh… maybe he lost his phone?” Reaching in the backseat, he again took his phone.

“Seriously? You’re calling him again? You just said he lost his phone. How will that help if you call him?”

“I don’t know,” Luke sighed.

“Don’t call him.”

“I’m not… I’m only checking the time.”

“Do you think I’m a fool?”

“Fine,” Luke made a face and put the phone away.

“Fuck…” Ashton mumbled.

“What?”

“I know why you’re so desperately trying to reach Alex. You’re horny and you’re craving to have sex with your boyfriend.”

“No… it’s not like that. We don’t always have sex.”

“Because your boyfriend is boring and uptight,” Ashton laughed, without taking his eyes off the road.

“No, stop saying that. He’s not,” Luke said before laughing along.

“Oh, you wish he’d let you have sex with him whenever you want to.”

“Shut up! I’m not some kind of sex addict.”

“Yeah? You and your last boyfriend could barely keep your clothes on. Tell me about that?”

“Next conversation, please.”

“I wonder how you guys are still together. You’re like the complete opposite of each other.”

“Because everything happens for a reason. Opposites attract.”

“I don’t see any reasons here but we’ve reached your destination.”

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Do you want me to wait for you?”

“Why would you wanna wait?”

“In case Alex is really over you and he kicks you out. How are you gonna go back home?”

“Shut up and bye. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

“Tomorrow? We live together. We can see each other tonight… unless you’ve made up with your boring man and you guys are fucking tonight.”

“Oh, fuck off already.”

“Alright. I’ll see you when you get home, which is probably tonight.”

Waving at Ashton a last time, Luke walked towards the building while fishing for the keys, which Alex had given him but he had never used, from his shoulder bag. If Alex did not want to talk to him, then he was going to surprise him.

**Meanwhile…**

When Michael had gone to the bathroom, he only had one thing in mind, to have a cold but somehow after getting inside, Michael had something else on his mind; it had been a while since he had touched himself and he was horny. He was currently pumping his penis vigorously, under the shower, and was massaging his balls with his other hand. Closing his eyes, he leant against the glass wall, pressing the side of his face against it. With his penis trapped between his stomach and the glass, Michael breathed unevenly as he pumped himself harder and lightly thrust into his fist. He let go of his balls and buried his hand into his damp hair before turning his head to the other side and biting his inner arm. As he let out a muffled groan, he came onto the glass wall. Cursing a few times, he twisted his hand around his dick to make sure he got everything out before letting go of it and resting his forehead against the wall to catch his breath.

Finally, Michael stepped under the water jet and rinsed the last bit of soap off his back before turning the water off and stepping out of the cubicle, whistling at the same time. He dried himself, patted the excess water from his hair and then tossed the towel to the floor. Grabbing another one, he wrapped it low around his hips and got out of the bathroom. Unaware of Calum waiting outside the door, Michael was taken by surprise when Calum pulled the towel off him and ran down the hallway with it while laughing maniacally; Calum, after those twenty minutes in the shower, he had forgotten that boy was still there. Michael groaned inwardly as he ran after the brunette, chasing him into the living room and bumping into Luke’s side accidentally.

“Shit!” Michael whispered.

“Hi,” Luke raised an eyebrow at the situation. Biting his lower lip, he let his eyes trail from Michael’s damp hair, to his face, down his chest, his stomach and stopped between his legs.

Realising where Luke’s eyes were, Michael quickly put a hand in front of his penis to hide it before grabbing a pillow from the couch and covering himself as he turned red from embarrassment. “I’ll… I’ll be right back.” he quickly turned around, while keeping the pillow in front of his penis, and walked to his room.

“I can see your butt,” Calum laughed loudly.

“Shut up!” Michael groaned and shifted the pillow to cover his ass. He closed the door behind him and let out another groan. “How could I be so stupid? This would not have happened if I had ignored Calum and had gone to wear some clothes instead of running after him.”

“Hey Michael,” Calum said as he poked his head through the door. “What are you doing in Alex’s room?”

“What? I didn’t unpack yet and I don’t wanna go through my suitcase to find some clothes. Ugh… how can Alex wear these?” he pointed to the clothes in the closet.

“You try to decide what you want to wear, I’m going.”

“But you said you’d stay over and you can’t go. Luke’s here.”

“I never said that. I said I’d stay over for the weekend and it’s not the weekend yet and I have to get to work early tomorrow. I’ll see you on Friday?”

“What? You can’t leave me with Luke.”

“Are you scared of him?”

“What? No. I just don’t know what I’m gonna tell him.”

“Just tell him that you’re Michael and he’ll leave.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

“Stop acting like a baby. He will. I’ll see you later.”

“No, you’re not going.”

“Ok, bye.”

“Calum hood, you don’t take one more step outside this room.”

“Why? What are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna tie you to the bed.”

“Ooh… kinky? Is that how you are with your girlfriends?” Calum laughed.

“Fuck off. I don’t have any dumb fetishes.”

“That’s not what it sounds. Yeah, you’d rather be alone in your bathroom to take care of yourself.”

“Get lost.”

“Ok, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

“Don’t! I’ll… I’ll follow you and drag you back here.”

“Yeah, so that Luke can see your dick again.”

“You know what, Calum? You should just leave. I’ll handle Luke on my own.”

“Alright, see you buddy.”

After pulling some pyjamas on, from Alex’s closet, Michael took a seat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. The wheels in his brain were working double times as he tried to come up with the best and simplest way to tell Luke that Alex was out of town. He had sent Calum away and now what? What was he supposed to do? None of the excuses he could possibly think of sounded good enough. It was such a simple task but he was failing miserably at it. He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not hear the bedroom door closing and somebody walking towards him until something soft and moist was pressed against his lips.

“Do you intend to hide from me forever?” Luke smiled as he sat next to Michael.

“What?” Michael frowned; whatever had come out of Luke’s mouth was just a distorted sound as his brain was still trying to process the fact that Luke had just kissed him. The kiss, it might have been brief but it was still a kiss.

“Alex? Are you there?”

“I’m not Alex. I’m Michael.”

It was Luke’s turn to frown; did Alex say what he thought he had said? “You’re messing with me?” he finally asked when he realised that he had been fooled once.

“No, I’m really Michael,” he said carefully.

“Ok, I’m gonna call Alex then.” Before Michael had the time to say anything, Luke had dialled the number and Alex’s phone was ringing on the mattress behind them. “Nice try, Love. You actually got me.”

Michael was about to talk again but Luke had pressed his index to his lips and shushed him before pushing him backward on the bed. He gulped when Luke settled beside him and placed his head on his chest. He closed his eyes as all kind of things were rushing through his head. Where was he trapped? Why did Alex do that to him? What was he going to do? What was Luke going to do? Before he knew it, Luke’s lips were again on his and his eyes shot open.


	3. Gotta Stop

Michael stared right at the boy, who had his eyes closed and lips against his, and cursed inwardly as his brain still tried to register what was happening. It was like he was frozen on the spot and his limbs refused to move. He wanted to push Luke away, he had to; whatever was happening was wrong on so many levels. One, Luke was his brother’s boyfriend and two, he was not into guys. He knew he should end it that instant but he somehow could not. However, what happened next completely caused Michael to lose all the power he had in him because the moment Luke had cupped his cheek, Michael’s eyes automatically fluttered close. On the other hand, Luke felt like something was not right because the other boy was not kissing him back and for a moment, he was not sure if it was Alex or Michael who was next to him. He was about to pull away but Michael had enclosed his lips around his and kissed him back, instantly clearing all of Luke’s doubts.

Taking Michael’s bottom lip between his teeth, Luke sucked it into his mouth and let his thumb stroke the older boy’s cheek. When Michael gasped and slightly parted his lips, Luke pushed his tongue into his mouth and licked the inner side of his cheek before pressing their tongues together. Michael was eagerly kissing him and unlike other times, it was quickly turning Luke on. The hand that Michael had on his hip tightened its grip and his blunt fingernails were digging into his skin, creating small reddish crescents into his pale skin. Luke let out a moan into Michael’s mouth and, trailing his hand down the other boy’s chest and stomach, he slipped it into his pyjama bottom, smiling into the kiss when he realised that Michael was not wearing anything underneath.

The moment Luke’s hand made contact with his penis, Michael was brought back to reality and he grabbed Luke’s hand, preventing him from going further. “Wait…” he whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked as he pulled away and frowned.

“I… huh…” Michael stuttered but then recomposed himself as he mentally kicked himself; what was he thinking? He could not let Luke know he was not Alex because he did not want to embarrass himself further and make a fool of himself. Neither did he want Luke to think that he willingly allowed him to kiss and touch him, because that was not the case, and Michael, being the good actor that he was, should be able to pull that off. “I’m tired. I want to sleep. Can we just sleep?” Michael asked as he faked a yawn.

Luke smiled. “Yeah.”

Michael sighed inwardly; he was glad that Luke was the kind of boyfriend, who was understanding and did not insist on the sex part. He shifted higher up on the bed and patted the mattress beside him, motioning for Luke to join him. “You’re such a sweetheart,” Michael smiled and pressed a kiss to Luke’s cheek before pulling the blanket over their bodies and turning the lights off.

“Good night,” Luke whispered against the back of his neck and then pressed a kiss to his shoulder before hugging him from behind.

Michael let out a breath as Luke’s bare chest made contact with his equally naked back and he closed his eyes; although he knew he would not be able to sleep as long as he was in the same bed as Luke, especially when Luke was lightly breathing against his neck. After long minutes of being curled together, Michael heard soft snores coming from the other boy and as Luke’s grip loosened around his waist, Michael could tell for sure that Luke was fast asleep. Carefully and quietly, he unhooked Luke’s arm from around him and after getting off the bed, Michael stripped out of Alex’s clothes and made sure to leave all of his brother’s belonging into his room before going back to his own room, where he hoped to get some sleep. It was the first time in his life he wished he did not have a twin, just a brother would have been fine. Where was he stuck because of Alex?

**Next Morning**

Michael happily hummed to the song playing on the radio as he started the kettle and proceeded to make himself some toast. After much struggle, the previous night he had managed to fall asleep after getting thoughts of Luke kissing and touching him out his head; it had taken a while but he did it. Also, when he had woken up that morning, Michael had made sure to wear his own clothes, just to avoid any more confusions, and he hoped that day he looked less like his twin and more like himself.

“Good morning,” Michael grinned when Luke appeared in the doorway, his hair still messy on his head. “Wow, you look like a wreck. What did you and Alex do last night?” he added with a laughed.

“Michael?” Luke raised an eyebrow and looked at him as he walked to the round table; he was confused for a second and did not know whether he was looking at his boyfriend or his brother. However, that doubt quickly got cleared out when he saw that Michael was shirtless, something that Alex would never do in the kitchen. Letting his eyes drift lower, he saw that he was wearing some floral shorts that were hanging really low on his hips; so low that he could see the top of his butt crease and could not help but wonder if he was wearing anything underneath. Luke mentally kicked himself at that thought; why was he even thinking about that? That was his boyfriend’s brother for heaven’s sake and it made it so wrong and inappropriate. But who could blame him anyway? Looking never hurt anyone.

“Yeah?”

“Nothing… just making sure.”

“Getting confused?” Michael again laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. You know once we were in high school and my girlfriend kissed Alex, thinking it was me. It was pretty awkward.”

“For you?”

“No, for them,” he chuckled.

Luke laughed along. “I’m glad I asked then.”

“Hey, you know what, we should go out together sometimes.”

“What?”

“No, not together-together, together as in me, you, Alex and Calum. It would be fun. We’ll get trashed and pass out.”

“I don’t think that’s Alex’s thing.”

“Yeah, my brother is boring. You want some breakfast?”

“No, thank you. I’m actually looking for Alex. Do you know where he is?”

“Wait, let me see. Left pocket, nope. Right pocket, not there either. No, I don’t know where he is.”

“Very funny, Michael.”

“You sure you don’t want some breakfast? Knowing Alex, he probably left for work already. Besides, I’ve been told I make excellent pancakes.”

“Alright then.”

Michael grabbed a mug and poured himself some coffee before taking a sip from it while pushing a plate in Luke’s direction. “Here you go.”

“That’s my mug,” Luke pointed out.

Michael looked at the mug, then back at Luke. “You have a mug. This is my house and I don’t even own a mug. Thanks Alex, that was very considerate of you,” he said out loud to his absent brother.

“I’ll just use another one.”

Michael joined Luke at the round table, taking a seat opposite of him, and took another bite of his chocolate-coated pancakes. Luke looked at him from under his lashes as the older boy munched on the pancakes but Michael ignored him and kept eating. The room turned silent as the two boys directed their attentions to their own plate. Biting his lips, Michael let his eyes fall on Luke’s face and suddenly, memories of the previous night came flashing back. He had kissed the boy in front of him, the boy who happened to be his twin’s boyfriend, and if he was completely honest with himself, he felt terrible. Kissing Luke felt different from kissing girls, it was not bad but it was definitely weird. He knew he was ogling but he could not keep his eyes off Luke’s lips; every time he would divert his gaze, his eyes kept being drawn back to them and he would feel guilty all over again. He felt guilty for not stopping Luke and letting it happen.

Finally, after much mental debates, he diverted his gaze to his coffee. What was wrong with him? Why was he staring at Luke’s lips? He had never been attracted to boys’ lips before and that action was freaking him out. He had always been close to Calum and never once had he been attracted to him or wanted to kiss him. The only Hood he had ever fantasised about was Calum’s sister. Anyways, that was off topic and he should probably return his attention back to Luke, just so he did not think he was being rude and ignoring him while he was at his house. He was about to talk but Luke got up.

“Thank you for the lovely breakfast. I have to go.”

“Already? Your food is barely past your throat.”

“I’d have stayed but Ashton’s waiting for me. See you around.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Ashton?”

“My best friend. Bye.”

“Hey,” Michael called when Luke reached the kitchen door. “Do you need a ride?”

“It’s ok but I’ve called Ashton and he’s probably already here. Thanks anyway.”

**Twenty-three minutes later…**

“Hey,” Ashton said when Luke entered the car.

“Hey… what took you so long? I’ve been waiting here for ages.”

“Duh… it’s not magic. It takes time to travel from one place to another with all this traffic. Plus, I’m not your driver.”

“But you’re my best friend,” Luke patted Ashton’s arm.

“I still can’t do magic. So, where are we going?”

“Home.”

“Can we grab some breakfast on the way?” Ashton asked when he heard a loud grumble in his stomach.

“I already had breakfast.”

“Now I feel even more like your chauffeur.”

“I wasn’t going to but Michael insisted and I’m glad he did because the pancakes were awesome.”

Ashton frowned. “Michael? I thought you were with Alex.”

“Yeah I was but he left for work and Michael, who is Alex’s brother, offered me some breakfast.”

“So, what happened with Alex? Did you two sort things out?”

“Yeah we’re good. I thought you wanted some breakfast on the way,” Luke said when Ashton took the way home.

“I’ll have some cereals.”

“You know, Michael is pretty cool. If you meet him, you’re sure to like him. He’s hot.”

“Hook me up with him then.”

“He’s not into guys, unfortunately?”

“Unfortunately? For who? For you?” Ashton raised an eyebrow.

“No, just saying in general.”

Luke let his thoughts wander to Michael. Although he was Alex’s twin, the two of them seemed to be so different from one another. From what Luke had seen, Michael was the crazy one while Alex was the tamed one. He only met him twice and he could already tell that Michael was a nice guy and he was a lot of fun to hang out with. After meeting Alex, Luke had lost the wild side of his personality but somehow after meeting Michael, he reminded him of himself and how he used to be. Hopefully, having Michael around would bring that side back.

“Good because I thought you were having second thoughts,” Ashton said after a long moment. “For a second, it sounded as though you’d rather pick Mister Hottie over Mister Boring,” he smiled as he stopped the car in the driveway.

“Wait up!” Luke called after him as the older boy was already making his way to the front door. “Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know, just an observation.”

“We live in the same house. We’ve known each other most of our lives and you should know how I feel about Alex. Ashton wait!” Luke groaned when Ashton got inside and walked towards the kitchen.

“You don’t know that. You just think it’s love.”

“I don’t think, I know it is. You just don’t like him.”

“Blah blah blah… It’s just that you used to be different before you met that guy,” Ashton stated and added under his breath, “boring man.”

“I know he’s not very outgoing but it’s not very nice to keep saying that he’s boring. Even Michael said that.”

“See, if his brother also thinks so, it must be true.”

“Oh please. Don’t start.”

“You two have been dating for six months…”

“Seven and a half to be exact,” Luke corrected.

“Ok, you’ve been dating for seven-and-a-half-to-be-exact months and the three of us have hung out like three times only. How lame is that? I mean, I’m your best friend. I would be nice if we hang out; you, me, him and his friends. Does he have any hot friend?”

“If you’re nice, we’ll work on that. I’ll ask him if he wanna.”

“If I’m nice?” Ashton scoffed. “I’m always nice.”

“Not when it concerns Alex.”

“What can I do? That guy is so stiff…”

“Ashton,” Luke warned.

“Fine, fine, I’m not saying anything else. What about his brother? Is he as ssssstttttiiii… bbbboooorrrr… as Alex?”

“Nope… he seems different. You might actually like him.”

“Why don’t you date him instead then?” Ashton laughed.

“Fuck you!!!” Luke called and he was about to hit Ashton but the older boy quickly moved away, causing Luke to chase after him in the living room.

**Later that day…**

The day was passing at a relatively slow rate and no matter what Michael did, he ended up getting bored soon after. Every now and then, his mind would drift to Luke, his lips and the way he had kissed him and Michael would lose interest in whatever he was doing and focus on Luke instead. Those thoughts were disturbing and every time Luke would pop in his mind, there would be that lump that would form in his throat and he would feel suffocated. There he was, feeling like shit when he should be having fun and enjoying himself. The more he thought about Luke, the more he felt guilty about not telling him that Alex was out of town. That was when he made up his mind to tell him the truth and to do that, he would either have to wait for Luke to call or to show up again. He knew there was Luke’s number on Alex’s phone but he did not want to use that phone because he did not want Luke to think he was Alex again and cause another complication to arise. To get his mind off Luke, he took his laptop and logged in to his Facebook account, smiling when he saw that Calum was online.

Without wasting time, he started a video call and tapped his fingers against the keyboard impatiently as he waited for the brunette to answer. “Hey buddy!!!”

“Yo! I was going to ask you how you’re doing but you look great to me,” Calum smiled.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“What’s up?”

“I’m bored to death. I’m running out of things to do.”

“And I’m your last resort to get you out of boredom?”

“Yes, entertain me Calum. No, I’m just kidding. I didn’t even know you were online. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I am… I’m talking to you in the toilets,” Calum turned the phone around to let Michael have a look.

“That’s why it looks so white and clean everywhere. Are we having dinner tonight as well?”

“I can’t. I’m meeting Mali tonight, I promised her already. Sorry mate.”

“Fuck! I hate eating alone.”

“Maybe tomorrow but I don’t promise. So what happened with Luke yesterday?”

“Nothing… we had a little chat and then we went to bed. That’s all. Talking about Luke… you don’t happen to know where he lives, do you?”

“Why?”

“Nothing… just out of curiosity,” Michael bit his lower lip.

“Michael, I know you better than that. What are you thinking?”

“Seriously, nothing. I was just wondering… whatever. So do you know or not?”

“OMG!!!” Calum stared at him.

“What?”

“You’re doing it. You’re fucking doing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about but it’s definitely not that. Just text it to me already. Bye bye.”

“Wait! You’re going to pretend to be Alex. Sleep with Luke maybe…”

Michael made a face. “That’s absurd. I have no interest or whatsoever in Luke. I only want to meet him because I want to convey Alex’s message,” Michael stated and added in his head, _‘and avoid a repeat of last night’_.

“Oh, how disappointing,” Calum pouted.

“I have nothing to say to that,” Michael sighed when Alex’s phone rang beside him. “And I’m getting a new phone. Now, text me his address and get your ass back to work.”

 


	4. Unexpected

Luke ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as he thought about two nights ago when he had gone to meet Alex; the other boy had acted weird, almost like he did not want Luke to be there. Although, he knew he was probably wrong about the whole thing, considering how much of his time Alex liked to dedicate to his work, but he could not help that feeling growing in him. What if Ashton was right? What if Alex really was bored with him and wanted to distance himself? No, that could not be; other than Ashton, he was the most fun-loving person he knew, so the chances of Alex being bored with him did not even arise. Luke pushed those thoughts aside; Ashton was definitely wrong. With that in mind, he did not want to ponder about that night because all there was to it was that Alex was tired from work and nothing else.

He took a spoonful of his Coco Pops and shoved it into his mouth while keeping his eyes glued to the TV. He was watching SpongeBob Squarepants but his mind was elsewhere; he was waiting for a call or even a text from Alex but he did not get any. Since he had taken Ashton’s suggestion into consideration, he had decided to give Alex some space. He did not call or text him since he left his house the other day and neither had the other boy contacted him. Luke was certain if he kept going like that, he was going to go crazy because he was the clingy kind of boyfriend and he was missing the closeness. He missed cuddling with Alex, he missed kissing him and he missed all the other little things they did together. Luke groaned when the doorbell rang and decided to ignore it because it was probably Ashton, who always felt too lazy to find his own keys when he knew Luke was home, but it rang again.

“Seriously Ashton, you have to stop… Alex?” Luke said when he saw his boyfriend standing there, instead of Ashton, like he had thought.

“Hey, did I disturb you?”

“Of course not.”

“Why do I feel like you weren’t expecting me to be here?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I didn’t even get a hello?” Michael laughed. Before going there, he had made up his mind to let Luke believe he was Alex, ease him into a conversation and then tell him he was Michael and that Alex was away. It was as simple as that.

Smiling, Luke wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist and pulled into a tight hug before turning to the side and placing a kiss to his temple. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“That’s funny. You make it sounds like I’ve been gone for ever,” Michael mumbled and nuzzled into Luke’s neck; he did not know why he had done that but he moment he realised what he was doing, he pulled away. “Can I come in?”

“You don’t to ask. And you have a key,” Luke shook his head.

“Right I do but… I forgot it at home,” Michael simply said as he walked inside. “You’re having Coco Pops. I haven’t had those in ages.”

Luke almost raised an eyebrow at that; Alex was always like the toast and coffee kind of guy and he did not know he liked cereal. “I didn’t know you like this.”

“I actually love it,” Michael said and put a spoonful in his mouth. “Luke?”

“Hmm…”

“There is something that I have to tell you…”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know how to say it but I got you something.” Michael pulled something out of the fancy little bag that he had brought along and grinned as he handed it to Luke.

“A cactus?”

Michael was confused at first about what he should get Luke because he did know what to get for Luke since he barely knew him. Besides, he thought a nice little gesture would prevent things from getting awkward. “Yeah, I first thought of getting you flowers but then I realised they were gonna wilt within a few days. But a cactus, it’s always gonna be there.”

The moment Michael said the last part, Luke had that silly grin on his face and, placing the cactus on the table, he pulled Michael into a hug. “That’s sweet. I love it. Will you stay tonight?”

“I guess…” Michael wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist, just as the other boy was pulling away, and held him close before placing his head on Luke’s shoulder and letting his eyes dart to the TV that was playing the end credit of SpongeBob. “What were you doing before I come?”

“Just watching TV, eating Coco Pops and thinking about you, mostly thinking about you,” Luke mumbled against Michael’s hair while inhaling his shampoo.

“You sound like those cheesy boyfriends,” Michael laughed and tickled Luke’s ribs.

Luke raised an eyebrow at what had just happened; it was weird because Alex would never say such a thing to him but he decided to brush it off. If Alex wanted to be extra affectionate with him, Luke had no problem with that, in fact, he was loving it. With a smile, he tilted his head and pressed a kiss to Michael’s neck. At that action, Michael slightly flinched but took a deep breath and ignored it; Luke thought he was Alex and that explained his action. For the moment, he was going to let it go because he knew how Luke was with Alex, he had seen how they acted towards each other and he was certain things would not go too fast or farther than he could cope with. The only reason he had not pulled away was because Luke’s embrace was warm and cosy and he had not had anyone that close for quite some time and he missed it. Michael sighed against Luke and closed his eyes; apart from hugs and occasional cuddles from Calum or Alex, he had never been in such a long embrace by someone as broad and big as Luke and he had to admit it felt nice.

He was so lost in the warmth that he had not realised when Luke’s kisses had moved from his neck to his jaw. Those kisses trailed to his chin and then to his lips to finally make Michael come out of that daze he was in. Luke was kissing him, Michael sighed at the thought. Luke was kissing him? He quickly opened his eyes only to realise that he was kissing the other boy back. He never thought he would have ever said that but kissing another guy felt exciting and he did not know why but he closed his eyes and kept kissing Luke. When they pulled away, Michael looked into Luke’s eyes and for the first time he noticed they were blue and pretty. Looking at Luke’s face that close, he could not help but realise that Luke was a handsome lad, no wonder Alex fell for him; he looked perfect. For the first time he was really looking at Luke and taking in his features: Luke’s jawline, his cute little nose, his cheekbones, his rosy lips.

The older boy let his eyes trail lower to his neck, then to the little blonde hair on his chest and lower to his nipple that was showing since his extra-large tank top was hanging off one shoulder. Luke placed two fingers under his chin and made him look at him again. He pressed a quick kiss to Michael’s lips before looking into his eyes again.

“What are you looking at?” he asked as he straightened his clothes.

Michael cleared his throat. “You,” he mumbled. “You’re so pretty.”

Luke laughed; it almost sounded like it was the first time his boyfriend was looking at him. “You’re pretty too. Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?”

“And I love your lips.”

Luke was about to reply to that but Michael had his lips against his again and he only kissed him back. Their lips moved impatiently against one another and Luke enclosed his arms around Michael’s neck while Michael tightened his grip around the younger boy’s waist. He slid his hands along the collar of Michael’s khaki shirt, popped open the little buttons, from the top to the bottom, and pushed it off Michael’s shoulders. Michael hummed appreciatively into the kiss when Luke’s hands made contact with his skin. Luke’s hand moved gently over his chest and Michael felt the need to do the same; he wanted to put his hands on the other boy, he wanted to feel his skin and he wanted to press their bare chest together. Trailing his hand higher, he grabbed the straps of Luke’s top and, pushing them off his shoulders, he let them hang around his waist. Next, he reached out to Luke’s nipple, the same one that he was looking at before Luke had straightened his clothes.

The younger boy gasped when Michael rolled his index over the bud. For a moment, Luke had that doubt; was that really Alex with him or was it Michael? Because for Alex, sex was something that should only be done in the bedroom and they were both shirtless at that instance. However, he mentally laughed at himself; why would that be Michael? Michael was not into men. Pushing that thought away, he returned his attention to the boy in front of him. He pressed his hand flat against Michael’s chest and pushed him backward until he was lying down. Once he had adjusted to the new position, Luke straddled his hips and placed his hands on Michael’s chest while he looked at him. Michael cursed inwardly; looking at Luke from that angle was just… Damn! And as Luke leant forward to connect their lips, Michael placed his hand on the other boy’s waist and moved them to his ass to cup his cheeks. That was when he realised Luke was only in his boxers.

“Whoa! Keep the sex to the bedroom,” Ashton exclaimed as he walked in and placed his hands on his hips to look at them.

At the sound of someone else’s voice, they pulled away and turned their head to look at the intruder. “Ashton…” Luke muttered and quickly pulled his top back up.

“What the hell?”

“I didn’t think you’d be back soon…”

“And you took the liberty to get naked on our couch?”

When Luke stayed quiet, Michael waved at Ashton with a huge smile. “Hi.”

Ashton only glared at him. “This is not fucking done because when I bring my men over, we always do our shits in my room. This is not fair. And you’re the one who made that rule where we can’t have sex anywhere in the house, except for the bedroom.”

“Oh come on Ashton. we were not having sex. We were just kissing…”

“And luckily I walked in before things got out of hands.”

“Drama queen,” Luke mumbled.

“What? What was that?”

“Nothing…”

“Oh, what a lovely cactus. I love cacti,” Ashton ignore Luke and reached for it.

Luke slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch, it’s mine.” Taking the little pot, Luke got up and walked to his room.

“Cacti?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“Plural of cactus?”

“Isn’t that cactuses?”

“Whatever…” Ashton rolled his eyes at him and walked to the kitchen.

Looking around the empty room, Michael grabbed his shirt and followed Ashton. “What are you doing?”

“Making coffee.”

“I’ll have some,” he hooked the shirt on one of his shoulders and leant against the counter as he shoved a hand in the pocket of his blue jeans and watched the other boy. “Are you having dinner with us?”

Ashton lifted his head and stared at Michael; what was the purpose of that question? Did Luke talk to Alex already? Or was it an ‘are you having dinner with us because I totally don’t want you to’? He did not like Alex and he knew the feeling was reciprocated. “Are you asking if I want to have dinner with you or are you meaning that I should leave you two alone?”

“Why will I mean that? Of course I’m asking you to have dinner with us,” Michael smiled as Ashton only looked at him.

Luke walked into the kitchen and, taking Michael’s shirt, he slipped it on him. Since he did not know what they were talking about, he only stayed quiet.

“Depends on what you guys are ordering,” Ashton shrugged.

“Ordering? No, I’ll make dinner.”

When Michael did not button up his shirt, Luke shook his head and did it himself. “Better.”

Smiling at Luke, Michael wrapped his arm around his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“You’ll make dinner?” Ashton laughed.

“What’s so funny? I’m an excellent cook.”

“Really? The two times that we have actually met, once you’ve order dinner and the other we ate outside. And whenever Luke tell me about his dates with you, you guys are always ordering food.”

Michael hummed. “Well, I can be an excellent cook, when I want to.” One thing was sure, he knew he was going to like Ashton and they were going to get along well because Ashton was just like him. He shook his head. Get along well? Why did he even think about that? It was not like he was going to meet Ashton again or Luke. “I like that you’re straight-forward. Stay for dinner, you won’t regret it.”

“Ok, we’ll see. You better get started because I have a date later tonight.”

Luke looked at Ashton and then at Michael. What was going on? Why did Alex ask Ashton to stay for dinner? Usually, Alex would avoid occasions where Ashton would be present because he thought Ashton was too insolent. There was something odd: Alex asking Ashton to join them, Alex being shirtless in the kitchen, something which he would never do, Alex undressing him in the living room. What were all those? When Ashton pulled Luke out of the kitchen, he pushed those thoughts out of his head; he would think about them later.

**Later that night…**

Ashton ran his finger through his hair and walked to the bar. “Hey, can I sit here?” he asked the brunette, who was already sitting there and sipping on a beer.

“Of course it’s free and you can sit here. My best friend, who is supposed to be here with me, is too busy trying to get into the pants of someone he can’t have. So, obviously I’m here by myself.”

“Tragic,” Ashton nodded as he also ordered himself a beer. “My date ditched me. I’m Ashton.”

“Calum,” he nodded. “Actually, my best friend is not really trying to fuck anyone. I said that because I’m mad at him for not being here. He’s just busy trying not to be his twin.”

“Even more tragic,” Ashton laughed. “So, you have eyes for anyone in here?”

Calum ran the brim of the glass against his lips and looked at Ashton. “No, do you?”

“Not really…”

Twenty-five minutes and a few more beers later, Ashton pressed Calum against the wall and kissed his neck. Calum gasped and tilted his head backward as he buried his fingers into Ashton’s hair. He lifted a leg up and, wrapping it around the older boy’s hips, he thrust against him.

“My house,” he panted.

“My car is outside,” Ashton breathed out heavily as he cupped Calum’s ass. “I need to fuck you…”

 


	5. Something New

Ashton moaned and his eyes fluttered open when he rolled onto his other side and his penis touched something warm. He placed his palm on his face to block the bright light that was disturbing his eyes as he took in his surrounding; the unfamiliar room and the unfamiliar person lying next to him. He could not see his face since the boy had his back turned to him but the tousled dark hair and toned back brought back the memories of the previous night. Ashton knew he had to get up already because the whole ‘waking up together’ thing was not his thing but all he really wanted to do was close his eyes again. Listening to the little voice in his head, he pulled the blanket higher up on his chest and closed his eyes. However, he opened them again when the mattress shifted beside him and the brunette hugged him in his sleep. As carefully as he could, Ashton took the hand by the wrist, in an attempt to put it away, but ended up waking the other boy up.

“Hi…” the boy said in a croaky voice and with a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth.

That smile, Ashton could remember that it was that same smile that had gotten him the night before. “’Morning. Sorry. Did I wake you up?”

Calum hummed at the back of his throat and wrapped his arm proper around the older boy’s waist. “No. Why? Were you trying to sneak out on me?”

“No,” Ashton chuckled lightly; although that was exactly what he had intended to do. “Why would you say that?”

“Because that’s what most guys do.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” the older boy smiled and decided to go with the flow. Besides, the other boy was cute; the way his eyes could barely stay open, the way his hair was all messed up, the way his voice would croak every time he would speak and then there was that smile. The only problem was that he could not remember the name to that pretty face, which was a shame in his eyes. “What was your name again?”

It was the younger boy’s turn to chuckle. “It’s Calum.”

“And I’m…”

“Ashton. Yeah, I remember.”

“It was really fun yesterday. I had a great time. We should… could probably do that again, someday. If you want to of course.”

“Yeah, I’d love to.” Calum pushed the blanket off him, got off the bed and pulled on his boxers. “Thought you’d never ask.”

“Maybe you could give me your number.”

“Sure.”

“Where are you going?” Ashton propped himself on his elbow and asked when Calum made his way to the door.

Turning around, the brunette walked back to the bed. “To make you breakfast.”

“What about your number?”

“I’ll give it to you after breakfast… maybe.”

“Maybe? Why? Do you have a boyfriend or something?”

“A boyfriend?” Kneeling on the edge of the mattress, he pressed a kiss to Ashton’s cheek and laughed. “Maybe I do… maybe I don’t. Get dress and come.”

Ashton looked at the open door and the clothes that were scattered on the floor. He bit his lip and glanced at the door again, for any sign of Calum; he could see all of his clothes, except for his underwear. The only explanation he could find was that Calum had worn them because there was another pair of undies on the floor, by his clothes but they were definitely not his. What should he do? Should he wear Calum’s boxers? Ashton shook his head at that thought; he was not going to wear someone else’s dirty boxers. Eventually, he did what he thought was right and opted to just wear his clothes, without boxers; besides, it was not like anyone was going to know he was not wearing any. Taking a look at himself in the mirror, he walked out of the room, went into what he thought was the bathroom to rinse his face and followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen. He leant against the doorway and watched the younger boy actively working at the stove.

And he was right, it was indeed his boxers on Calum, who was so engrossed in what he was doing that he did not notice Ashton standing there and Ashton only smiled at the scene as he shoved his hands in his pocket but he instantly regretted doing so when the harsh material of his jeans rubbed against his penis and he made a face before pulling his hands out while his eyes never left the other boy. However, he walked further into the kitchen after a few more seconds because he did not want Calum to think he was ogling, even though that was what he was doing.

“Smells nice in here,” he smiled as he leant against the back of a chair.

“Hey,” Calum turned around and smiled. “What took you so long? I thought you snuck out for real this time.”

“I was in the bathroom. So, you didn’t really answer my question earlier.”

“Which one?” Calum turned around and wiped his hands in a napkin.

“Do you… have a boyfriend?”

The brunette laughed before making his way to Ashton. “I believed I already gave you an answer,” he whispered in his ear before pressing a brief kiss to his lips and again moving to the stove.

Did he really take that long? Because he could get the fresh smell of toothpaste when Calum had kissed him, which could only mean Calum had brushed his teeth before going to the kitchen, and he was currently setting scrambled eggs on the two plates that were on the table. Clearing his throat, he pulled a chair and took a seat.

Calum poured two cups of coffee and walked to the table before taking a seat opposite of Ashton. He eyed the other boy, who had his eyes set on his plate and smiled; as bad as it sounded, he was glad that Michael did not go to the club with him the previous night because then, he probably would not have met Ashton. “So, you did not tell me about that boyfriend of yours.”

“Boyfriend?” Ashton looked up from his plate and raised an eyebrow. “This is delicious.”

“Thanks,” Calum laughed. “Yeah, the one that you had a date with last night?”

“Oh… he’s not my boyfriend. We met a few times but trust me, after he ditched me last night, I don’t want to see him again,” Ashton stated and as if on cue, his phone buzzed on the table and he rejected the call when he realised who was calling him. “Or answer his call.”

“That was him calling?”

“Yeah but whatever. Are you going to give me your number?”

“Mmm… like I said, maybe…” Calum smirked as he put some eggs in his mouth.

“Should I take this as a yes?”

“I don’t know,” Calum mouthed and could not help but again smile when the other boy groaned. “Should I?”

“Yes, unless of course, you don’t want to hang out again.” Ashton checked the time on his phone and wished it was not so late. “I should go.”

“Already?”

“Yeah, my best friend is waiting for me, we’re supposed to go out today. He wants to propose to his boyfriend and he wants me to go with him to get some stuffs, you know, to make it all special and whatever…”

“I think it’s cute,” Calum smiled.

“It is but they’re just so wrong for one another that it ruins all the cuteness.”

The younger boy hummed. “Isn’t it still early to go shopping?”

“Yeah but you don’t know my friend. He’ll start throwing a fit even if I’m late by five minutes. He can be annoying sometimes. So, I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” Calum nodded as he walked Ashton to the door. “Hey, don’t you want your jacket back?”

“Thanks…”

**Twenty-eight minutes later…**

“Shit!” Luke cursed as he tried to flip the pancake in the pan, only to fail miserably as he realised that it was stuck to the pan. Then, he tried to push the spatula under it to get it out but ended up breaking it. He was sure he followed every step of the recipe that he had found online and he still could not grasp what it was that he did wrong.

Ashton scrunched his nose as he walked into the kitchen. “What’s that horrid smell?”

“Pancakes?”

“I can guarantee you that pancakes do not smell like this,” Ashton looked at the plate that was on the counter and shook his head. “And they definitely are not supposed to be black.”

“At least I’m trying,” Luke sighed as he turned off the gas.

“Why are you even making those?”

“I wanted to make you breakfast. Where were you all night?”

“You sound just like my mom. Anyways, I was with that guy last night and yeah, I was with him.”

“The one you’ve been seeing for the past few weeks?”

“No, he never showed up… but I was with that other guy…”

Luke rolled his eyes at him. “You’re impossible.”

“What? He was nice. He even made me breakfast this morning.”

“Breakfast? You’ve already had breakfast and like an idiot, I’m working my ass to please you. That’s fucking lame. You could at least have told me not to wait for you to eat.”

“You don’t have to please me. You can do those for your boyfriend. Actually, I’m sure Mr. perfect would run away after this,” he pointed to the burnt pancakes.

“Fuck you. How could you even have breakfast? You didn’t even brush your teeth. That’s so gross.”

“I did.”

“I didn’t know you carry your tooth brush around when you go out at night.”

“I used my fingers, duh. Right now, my mouth smells nicer than those things,” he again pointed to the pancakes.

“You’re my best friend and I wanted to do something nice for you. You could at least thank me for my effort instead of being a jerk.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t really refuse him.”

“Really? Since when do you stay over and have breakfast with a guy that you fucked the night before?”

“Like I said, he’s nice.”

“Who is he, the one who’s gotten you all smitten?” Luke smirked.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I’m going to see him again. I don’t even have his number.”

“Aw, poor baby. That’s the thing about one-night stand, it’s just one night.”

“One night and I can already tell you that he’s nicer and much more fun than your boring man.”

“Not again…”

“Besides, what are you complaining about? You also got plenty of sex last night.”

“No, we didn’t really have sex. Alex only gave me a blowjob, which was kinda… okayish.”

“What do you mean ‘okayish’?”

“It was… sloppy.”

“Huh… Mr. boring is boring in bed? I’m not surprised.”

“He’s not. He’s usually good. Maybe he was just tired.”

“Tired?” Ashton raised an eyebrow. “He looked far from being tired when I saw him or when he made dinner, which was totally weird but I’m not going to complain, dinner was good. I wonder why you guys always order food when he can cook.”

“I didn’t know he could cook that well.”

The older boy nodded. “I see… that’s why you were trying to make breakfast, to impress him.”

“You know what? Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you…”

“Oh, gosh. Now it all makes sense. Mister Luke is horny, that’s why he’s being grumpy.”

“Ashton, get out of the kitchen, right now.”

“Why? Are you going to face-pan me?” he asked when he noticed the pan in Luke’s hand.

“No, I’m just putting it in the sink. But get out.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” Ashton shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he walked to his bedroom. “What’s that?” he stopped for a moment and pulled out a nicely folded piece of paper from one of the pockets. He smiled when he realised Calum had written his number on there and, grinning even wider, he walked to his room.

**Around lunchtime…**

Michael mumbled some incoherent things to himself as he got out of his car and walked to the elevator. He did not know how he was feeling at the moment and he needed somebody to talk to. He always told everybody and himself that he was straight but then, in the heat of the moment, he allowed things to happen between him and another guy. What was he supposed to make of that? The worst thing about it was that he did not regret doing it and he hated himself for it. Once he was in front of Calum’s door, he quickly looked for the key that the brunette had given him before letting himself inside.

“Calum?” he walked to the bedroom, assuming Calum was still sleeping since everywhere else was too quiet; considering Calum was never the quiet kind of person. “Calum?”

“Don’t come in. I’m naked in bed with a guy.”

Rolling his eyes, Michael pushed the door open. “What are you doing?”

“Texting?”

Michael dropped himself on the bed beside the other boy and groaned. “Who?”

“That guy…”

“Let me guess. You met him last night and according to you, he’s super cute, and you want to sleep with him again and you’re gonna text him for a few days, maybe two or three weeks, and then you’ll get bored and move on. How many times have you done that already?”

“Since I got dumped, every time. I mean, I never happen to meet anyone nice, so, you can’t really blame me. But the guy from last night, he’s something else. I think I might have a chance here.”

“I hope it’ll last for you this time. Anyways, that’s not why I’m here. There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Hmm?”

“I think I messed things up, like really screwed the shit out of everything,” he said as he took a deep breath.

“What’d you do?” Calum mumbled without really paying attention as he sent another text.

“Quit it. It’s important, more important than a guy you just met.” He grabbed the phone from Calum and set it on the bedside table. “You remember the other day I asked you for Luke’s address?”

“Yeah, you said you wanted to tell him everything.”

“Yeah, but things didn’t really happen the way I planned,” he bit the side of his lower lip and glanced at Calum. “I did things that I never thought I’d do ever, like ever, ever, ever, a million times ever.”

Calum groaned and moved to a sitting position. “Holy mother of potatoes, tell me already. What did you do?”

“So, I went to Luke’s house to tell him that I’m Michael and that Alex is away and that our phones got exchanged and stuffs.”

“Yeah, I know that already. Fast forward to something I don’t know.”

“I wanted to ease him into things and I got him like that little cactus thing…”

“Wait, wait wait…” Calum placed a hand on his knee and halted him. “A cactus? What for?”

“To ease him into things. Aren’t you listening?”

“Yeah, but a cactus… that’s odd and I don’t know, maybe romantic.”

“That’s not what I had in mind. Stop interrupting me now. Yeah, like I was saying, he loved the cactus… and then we kissed.”

Calum’s eyes went wide as he stared at Michael; did he hear right? “How was it?”

“Good, different but good, a little too good for my liking. Then, instead of telling him that I’m Michael, I just played along. We kept kissing on the couch, kinda undressed… I made dinner and…”

“And what? You had sex with Luke? Oh my god, you had sex with Luke,” Calum stated on an excited tone. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Fuck off. He’s my brother’s boyfriend.”

“So what? What your brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him. And that’s what makes it even more exciting.”

“Fuck no, it’s wrong.”

“But you want to keep pretending you’re Alex because you want Luke. You like Luke now, am I right?”

“What?” Michael scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t like Luke and I don’t want to do anything you think I want to do.”

Calum rubbed his forehead frantically.

“What are you doing? Why are you rubbing your forehead like an idiot?”

“I thought it was written fool on there. I’m trying to wipe it. If you want to do it, you should do it. Like you said, Alex won’t be back for a few months. Luke’s yours in the meantime,” Calum wriggled his eyebrows.

“Ugh… I don’t know Calum. I’m not into guys.”

“You can’t say that anymore, not after you had sex with one.”

“I didn’t have sex with Luke. Stop saying that.”

“If you guys could kiss and undress in the living room, I’m sure more things must have happened in the bedroom.”

“I gave him a blowjob and I hate myself for it. I sucked at it.”

“That’s kinda the point, sucking…”

“You’re not helping.”

“Did he give you one too?” Calum bit the side of his lips as he impatiently waited for an answer.

“No, I gave myself a hand job at the same time. Can we forget about Luke and go out? I need to clear my head. I need him out of my head.”

“Anything for you my love. Can you give me a few minutes to get ready?” Calum asked as he got up and walked to his closet. “When are you gonna see Luke again?”

“Argh…” Michael shook his head and walked away. He dropped on the couch in the living room and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He had to get those images out of his head, the images of him getting down on Luke, the images of his mouth around Luke’s penis. Fuck, he cursed when his mind again drifted to them. He again opened them when he received a text from Luke then another one and another one.

“What are you smiling at?” Calum grabbed the phone and read the texts out loud. “I miss your lips on mine already.”

“Give it back,” Michael said as he tried to take the phone from Calum, who moved away.

“I want you to rip my clothes off and put your hands on my body.”

“Calum, stop it.”

“I want you to touch my dick and suck me like you did last night,” Calum laughed. “Ooh la la.”

“Seriously Calum, give it back. They’re private.”

“Private? To Alex, who’s not here. Wait, there is more. I want to fuck you real good tonight.” Calum looked at Michael and smirked. “What are you gonna tell him?”

“Nothing, I’m just gonna ignore those.”

“How about?” he said to Michael and turned his eyes to the phone again. “I’d love to, my house tonight. I’ll be waiting for you naked and sprawled on my bed,” he spelled as he typed the text.

“Don’t you dare send that.”

“Oops.”

 


	6. The Setup

Luke closed his eyes and pulled a pillow into his lap as he thought about everything that was happening. He could not help but think that Alex had been acting weird and not himself for the past days. The thing that confirmed it was their anniversary. Yes, it was their eight-month anniversary that day and usually on that particular day, Alex would send him a sweet text in the morning, telling him how lucky he was to have met Luke. However, despite having been there that same morning, Alex had not mentioned anything and had just left saying he had some important work to do. That was really odd because it was not like Alex to forget important dates. Then Luke remembered what Ashton had said; there was something weird about Alex and more and more, Luke could see that too. It was then that his brain started working. Alex never liked Ashton, he knew that but never told Ashton because Ashton was his best friend and he knew that would hurt him. That was why he never liked to hang out with the other boy.

Still, the previous night, he had insisted Ashton should join them for dinner and he had even made dinner, which was weirder because as far as he knew, Alex was as much of a good cook as he was, which meant he was terrible. Yet, dinner was amazing. If he rewound to even before dinner, something even more bizarre had happened. Alex came and offered him a cactus; a cactus? Although he loved it, he could still not understand why a cactus because Alex never brought him any gift since Luke always told him he was the best gift. So, after the cactus episode, they started kissing on the couch, in the living room and things even reached undressing matters, something Alex never did. Alex was more like a reserved person and such things always happened in the bedroom. Plus, when Ashton walked in on them, Alex did not look one bit embarrassed, which should have happened. That was not all because he was talking and laughing with Ashton like good old friends, not to forget that he was not wearing his shirt.

That was point number two. Then there was that day when he had gone to Alex’s house, it looked like Alex almost did not want him there. They had shared an awkward kiss in his room but Luke had brushed it off, thinking Alex was tired but now he could see it was something else. The funny thing about the situation was that when Alex was there, Michael was not and when Michael was there, Alex was not. Was he being fooled again? He pulled the pillow to his chest to hug it as the wheels in his head kept turning. Was Michael pretending to be Alex again? No, that was impossible; Michael would not have gone to such an extent as to give him a blowjob. But then again, he remembered how sloppy it was and he knew Alex was not sloppy. Luke took a deep breath; he was probably overthinking things. As much as he knew Michael, he knew the other boy was a bit mischievous but would Michael go to that extent to play a prank on him? He had to find out, only then would his mind be at peace and to do that, he would have to pretend nothing was wrong.

“Hey Luke? Here you are, been looking for you everywhere. Your phone was charging in the kitchen and I got it for you.”

“Thanks,” Luke sighed.

“Oh before I forget, you got a text from Alex. He was telling you to drop by later and I told him yeah.”

“You read and answered my text?”

“Not a text,” Ashton laughed. “He called and I picked up since you were nowhere there. I’m guessing you won’t be here tonight, again.”

“I don’t know… maybe…”

“Well, in any case, don’t wait for me. I’m going out tonight,” the older boy moved his hips from side to side as he dance to a non-existent music.

“You’re fucking that guy again, aren’t you?”

“Who? Me? Maybe…” he again laughed as he kept dancing.

“Stop it. You’re acting weird,” Luke laughed and threw the pillow at him.

“What? I’m just in a good mood.”

“Yeah, that’s because you’re getting plenty of sex, more than you need.”

“And you aren’t getting enough. Go out, have fun, live a little…”

“I will. I’m going to meet Alex.”

“Ugh… You exasperate me. I’m going for a jog. And don’t forget to check your text.”

Luke frowned at Ashton’s retreating figure; text? Was it a text or a call? Knowing Ashton, he knew he was up to something and he could not even lie straight to cover it up. He checked his call history and his last call was to his mom, so instead, he opened his messages. He had a text from Alex and before that he had sent three other ones. Ashton, he shook his head.

I’d love to, my house tonight. I’ll be waiting for you naked and sprawled on my bed.

Luke kept reading that over and over again. Why would Alex send him something like that? Because it was not like him. Was it Michael? No, it could not as that was Alex’s number and Luke knew that by heart. Getting to his feet, he quickly fixed his hair and grabbed his jacket from the desk before rushing out the door. He had thought he would go to meet Alex later that evening but seeing that text, it started bugging him and he had to know already.

**About an hour later…**

Michael pulled a towel from the rack and patted his wet hair as he stepped in front of the mirror. He threw it on the counter next to the sink, grabbed another one to dry himself before tossing the damp towel to the floor. He was in the middle of wearing his boxers when he noticed a faint bruise on his neck and he instantly brought his finger to trace it; it had been left there by Luke, who had been sucking on his skin the previous night. The previous night, he sighed as the memory filled his mind. He could still remember how Luke’s penis had felt in his mouth. Since it was his first time, he knew he sucked at it but if he was given the chance, he would do it again and maybe let things go further than they had. Yes, he wanted to have sex with Luke and he was not going to deny it; he wanted to spread his legs and let him get between them. He was fucked up, he knew it and thus, needed to get his mind off Luke. Then he remembered how messy his room was and, pulling on his shorts, he walked back to his bedroom.

He messily folded another tee and placed it on top of the stack of shirts that were already in his closet. Finally, after so many days of being back, he got the time to unpack the suitcase that had been lying open in a corner of his room. He grabbed some boxers, bundled them in a ball and shoved them in the drawer. When his phone vibrated under some clothes, he took a seat and sighed because he was finally resting after long minutes of unpacking. It was a text from Calum and only contained a dozens of cacti emoji and nothing else. Michael rolled his eyes before tossing the phone behind him. He knew Calum intentionally sent him that because he just wanted to make fun of him for giving Luke a cactus. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to give him? Normally, he would buy gifts for his dad or Alex or Calum but he knew what they liked but Luke? He still knew so little about him. Quickly he pushed that away since he did not want to think about Luke as it was a never-ending subject.

However, he could not stop his mind from going to that territory. He may have been telling himself that he had no interest, whatsoever, in Luke but he also knew that something was different in his life since that very first time Luke had mistaken him for Alex and had kissed him. Talking to the boy the next morning and getting to know him had made him like Luke a little bit more, even though he knew Luke was out of his league. Then there was that time where he had supposedly gone to tell Luke that Alex was away; he knew the only reason he went there was because he wanted to see Luke again. He smiled as he thought about Luke’s face, he was so pretty. His lips, Michael could still remember how they had felt against his. His eyes, they were so captivating and they would light up whenever Luke would smile. His dimples, he did not know what it was about them but they were the most beautiful things Michael had set eyes on. Then there were his hands, Michael had liked how they had felt on his skin and he wanted to feel more of them.

With a sigh, he looked at the rest of the clothes that were on his bed and, grabbing them all, he tossed them in the closet and closed the door. There, his room looked much neater. Patting his stomach that let out a loud grumble, Michael walked to the fridge and pulled out the large container of yoghurt before walking to the balcony. He took a seat on one of the big armchairs that Alex had put there and set the yoghurt on the table. Then he lit a cigarette, took a long drag and put a spoonful of the desert into his mouth, after exhaling the smoke. He was enjoying himself, allowing the sun to lightly kiss his skin when someone knocked on the door. Michael looked at his cigarette in one hand, the container of yoghurt between his thighs and the spoon in his other hand; whoever it was would have to let themselves in because it was either Calum, who had the key, or Alex, who also had the key.

“Hi Babe!” Luke said from the doorway.

Luke, Michael had forgotten that he also had a key and yes, he was the ‘babe’ because while pretending to be Alex, he had told Luke that Michael was away. “Hi Muffin! Come cuddle?” Michael smiled as he got into character.

Luke raised an eyebrow at the nickname; it was probably Michael’s doing but he was not certain yet and he had to play along. Smiling, he set the yoghurt back on the table and sat onto Michael’s thigh before kissing him. If his doubts were right and it really was Michael, he expected the other to push him away but that did not happen because Michael had wrapped one arm around his waist and had deepened the kiss. It was probably only his over-active imagination because so far, nothing had confirmed his suspicion.

“Did you forget something?”

Michael supressed the frowned that was going to appear on his forehead and kept a straight face; what was it? Was it Luke’s birthday? He could not wish him either because it would look suspicious if it was something else. “Did I?”

“You really don’t remember?”

Michael pressed his lips to Luke’s, silencing the other; that way, he would have some additional time to think. What could be so important that Luke was asking? It could not be Alex’s birthday because that was also his birthday and it was not his birthday. If he remembered properly after stalking Luke’s Facebook earlier that day, it was not his birthday either. What date could be so important to both Luke and Alex? Of course, that had to be it. “Happy anniversary.”

“You remembered.”

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise you and wanted it to look like I had forgotten,” he whispered and pecked Luke’s lips. Deep down, he was feeling proud of himself because he was so good at acting that it came out so naturally. Although, he was no longer pretending and was being himself because he genuinely wanted Luke; the only thing that was fake was his name.

For a second, he had thought he was going to trick whoever that guy was but he had again failed. Everything about the whole scene was saying that it was Alex but somehow, he was still not convinced; somebody could not change that much overnight. “What’s the surprise?”

“Why are you being inpatient?” Michael laughed as he tickled Luke’s rib with his fingers.

“Stop… you know I’m ticklish… stop…”

“Are you now? No, I don’t think so,” Michael said and kept teasing Luke.

“Babe stop… if you love me, stop.”

“Fine,” Michael made a face and smiled as he pressed their foreheads together. “Just because I love you. We should go out tonight, to celebrate.”

“Where? Dinner and then movie at home?”

Michael scrunched his nose. “No… We could go to get some drinks. We could also tell Ashton and Calum to join us. It’ll be fun.”

“You’re sure about this?” Luke asked with confusion.

“Yes,” Michael nodded as he looked at the other boy’s face. He had never thought that pretending to be his twin would make him end up falling for Luke but unwillingly he did. “We’ll call them later,” he whispered into Luke’s ear before pressing a kiss to his lobe.

Luke let out a little laugh at that and moved to nuzzled into Michael’s neck. He connected his lips to the side of the older boy’s neck and lapped at his skin before trailing his lips to his chin, then to his lips. When their lips again met, Michael tightened one arm around Luke’s waist and slipped the other under the front of his shirt. Smiling against Luke’s lips, he slipped his index into his bellybutton and wriggled it around.

“You know I’m ticklish everywhere,” Luke held his hand as he said that while looking straight into his eyes.

“Aww…” he pinched his cheek playfully and tugged on it.

“I just remembered. I got a text from you earlier today and…”

“Before you say anything else, I have to let you know that it wasn’t me. It was Calum. Besides, before he sent you that, you did send a little something too.”

“Haha… That was actually Ashton. But…” Luke licked his lips as he trailed his hand down Michael’s bare chest and into his shorts.

When his fingers reached his penis, Michael halted him. “Not here…”

Smirking, Luke slipped his hand further down and cupped his balls. “Where then? Here?”

With a laugh, he slapped his hand away. “You know what I mean.”

Pecking him lightly on the tip of his nose, Luke again looked into his eyes. “I love you, Alex.”

One name, just that one name and it burst that little bubble that they were in. Michael could not help that tug in his chest and there was a bitter feeling that was rising in his throat. “Shit!”

“What happened?”

“I gotta pee.”

Luke shook his head, got up and when Michael walked inside, he did too. Was the other boy trying to run away? One moment it looked like it was Alex that was with him and the next, it looked like it was not Alex and that was confusing him up to the point where he did not know what to believe. Alex wanted to hang out with Ashton? Why? That was not all, he also wanted to go out on their anniversary; something that was unusual. Normally, they would order dinner and then cuddle on the couch while watching a couple of romantic movies. Damn it! Another thing, he knew Alex was good friend Calum but they did not really spend that much time together and since the past few days, that was all Alex did or talked about. He also knew that Calum was closer to Michael, which meant, the one he had been seeing for the past few days could be Michael.

Luke groaned in frustration; he was running out of things to do to test Alex/Michael. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked around himself as he tried to come up with an idea but while turning around on the spot, he realised there was nothing that could help him. Sighing, he dropped himself on the sofa and that was when something caught his eyes; a wallet that was on the coffee table. Luke glanced in the direction of the bathroom and quickly reached for it. After opening it, he slowly pulled the id out of the little pocket and his jaw dropped when he saw the name: Michael Gordon Clifford. He set the wallet back on the table and stared at it. He was right; it was Michael all along.

 


	7. Two Can Play At That

Michael placed his hand on Luke’s lower back as he led them to a table. He sat on the chair next to Luke and smiled at him; earlier that afternoon he had almost messed things up when Luke had said ‘I love you Alex’ and he had just excused himself to the bathroom. He had felt as equally guilty as he had felt hurt. He had actually felt more hurt because he was falling for Luke and he did not want to think about the consequences when Luke and Alex would find out; they would probably be beyond mad at him. However, he had fortunately managed to handle that situation and had even spent a romantic afternoon with Luke.

“Couldn’t you have found a nicer place?” Calum asked as he looked around the bar.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Well, look around yourself. Almost everyone here looks like they’re in their forties, fifties even.”

“We aren’t here for the people, we’re here for the drinks,” Luke laughed.

“Exactly,” Michael nodded. “Besides, I like this place. It’s quiet, cosy and intimate.”

“Intimate? Talk for yourselves.”

“Come on, we’re gonna have so much fun.”

“It better be worth it because I cancelled my date for you because you’re my best friend.”

“Hey, sorry I’m late. I was… Calum? What are you doing here?” Ashton asked, completely ignoring Luke and Michael.

“I should ask you the same,” Calum smiled widely.

“Best friend’s duty called,” he also smiled and took a seat next to Calum.

“Same. M… Alex insisted,” Calum bit his lips as he looked at Michael. “Anyways, I’m so glad that you’re here.”

“You two know each other?” Michael raised an eyebrow as Luke went to get them some beers.

“Yeah, we met last night and…”

Michael turned to Ashton and smirked. “Ashton’s the guy you slept with last night and he’s the one you’ve been so obsessed with since the morning?”

“Shut up, I’m not obsessed,” Calum mumbled in embarrassment as his cheeks started to turn pink.

“You are,” Michael insisted.

“Who’s obsessed?” Luke questioned and set four beers on the table.

“Calum. He and Ashton met last night and he had been obsessed with him ever since.”

“Oh, Calum’s the guy you hooked up with? I have to tell you, Ashton has been the same. He has been acting weird all day.”

“Hello? We’re here,” Ashton waved his hand in front of their faces. “Stop talking about us right in front of our faces. We can hear you.”

“Right, we’re here to celebrate me and Luke. I’ve never met anyone like you in my entire life and since the first time I’ve seen you, I knew you were going to change my life. I love you Luke.”

“I love you too,” Luke smiled and pressed a kiss to Michael’s lips.

“To us,” Michael said and raised his bottle.

“To all of us,” Ashton laughed and kissed Calum.

“Aww…” Luke smiled. “You guys are too cute.”

“Yeah, agreed but we are the stars of the evening so, quit it guys,” Michael said playfully.

Luke set his drink on the table and turned his attention to Michael who was telling a joke to Ashton. Although he had not heard most of it, he laughed along. Even though the boy beside him was not his boyfriend, Luke felt good when he was around him. Suddenly, the seven months that he had spent with Alex, paled in comparison to the few weeks that he had spent with Michael. Was he falling for Michael? If he was honest with himself, yes, he had already had. What was he getting into? What would happen when the real Alex would show up? He did know that but he wanted to cherish the present that he was spending with Michael because he had spent some crazy times with Michael and truthfully, that was the way he liked to live his life: carefree and spontaneous.

Ashton snapped his fingers in front of Luke’s face. “Where are you lost?”

“I’m right here…”

“No, you’re probably thinking when you’d get home and fuck Alex,” the oldest of them leant closer to Luke and laughed. “If you’re horny, you can get your asses home. I’m in good company,” he motioned towards Calum.

“I’m not. You’re the one who can’t wait to get home and you met him like what, yesterday?” Luke whispered back. “One day and you’re already trying to get rid of your best friend. Can’t believe you’re choosing a one-day fling over so many years of friendship.”

“Stop being so dramatic. You know it’s not true.”

“Hey Luke,” Michael said as he emptied his drink and placed a hand on Luke’s thigh. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah, he wants to. He’s been waiting for it,” Ashton grinned when Luke glared at him.

“See you lovebirds,” Calum waved as he downed another shot and moved closer to Ashton. “Shall we go too?”

“Can I finish my drink first? You know, it’s been a weird night.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe we’ve been drinking in a bar full of old people.”

“Not that.”

“What then?”

“I’ve known Alex for as long as he has been dating Luke but I’ve never seen him like this. He been laughing and talking and joking and all those public display of affections that have been going on. It’s just… weird.”

Calum laughed. “That’s because he’s not Alex.”

“Excuse me?” he frowned.

“He’s Michael.”

“Michael? Alex’s twin brother Michael?”

“Yep, the one and only Michael, my best friend.”

“I think you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“No, Alex is away for work purposes. He’s been gone for a while actually and the one who was with us tonight was Michael. He’s been pretending to be Alex because he has a crush on Luke. But don’t tell Luke, it’s a secret. Shh…”

“That explains it all. That’s why he’s been acting odd lately. Fuck, I gotta tell Luke.” Ashton took his phone from the table and quickly dialled Luke’s number. Five calls later, Luke was still not answering and he cursed loudly.

“What’s wrong baby?” Calum slurred.

“He’s not picking up.”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about them. Let’s get out of here.”

**The next morning…**

Luke groaned when his phone buzzed on the bedside table and he lightly blinked before ignoring it. He rolled to his other side and smiled as his eyes landed on Michael. Suddenly, the memories of the previous night came rushing back to him. He had done it. He had sex with Michael and he still could not believe it. They had spent long minutes kissing, pressing their naked bodies together, teasing each other before finally having sex. He pushed a strand of hair off Michael’s face and pecked his cheek before turning his attention to the phone that was again ringing. Luke got up, bundle the bedsheet around his hips and walked to the living room with his phone. He noticed he had seventeen missed calls from Ashton and, frowning, he decided to give him a call back.

“Don’t tell me you had sex with him,” the boy said, the moment he answered.

“Hi, I’m good too. What about you?”

“This is no time to joke Luke. I’m serious. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“Do you?” Luke yawned. “Oh, I know. Calum probably dumped you last night and you’re making a fuss about it.”

“This is not about me. It’s about you. You’re being fooled.”

“Am I?”

“Yes. Please tell me you did not have sex with him.”

Luke smiled. “I think it’s too late for that because I did.”

“There’s something you need to know. He’s not Alex.”

“I know.”

“What?”

“Umm… I saw his id and I just went along because I don’t know… I like being with him.”

“So you’re telling me you’re now in love with Alex’s brother?”

“Maybe… I think I am.”

“I wonder if you know what love really is.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve been spending days with Michael and I know him. Unlike you, who think you’re in love with someone you met twenty-four hours ago.”

“Like I said, this is not about me. And does he know that you know?”

“No, but I’m going to tell him. Is that why you’ve been calling so many times?”

“Yeah, I wanted to spare you of the guilt of unknowingly cheating on Alex but hey, you did it willingly. What can I say in that?”

“How about you go back to bed, where I know Calum still is?”

“Good idea. Bye.”

“Hold on…”

“What?”

“How’d you know anyway?”

“Calum was drunk last night and he kind of blurted everything out. Can I go now?”

“Yeah.”

Luke dropped his head on the back on the couch and closed his eyes. Around the same time, Michael walked into the living room, in his boxers, and leant against the wall as he watched Luke. There was that thing about Luke that always made him smile and that day his smile was even brighter because of the previous night. He had sex with a guy for the first time and he was glad that guy was Luke. It had hurt a little but it was totally worth it. Slowly, he walked to the couch and took a seat beside Luke. That was it, he had to tell Luke; he could not do that any longer. He knew Luke would probably hate him afterwards but he could not keep him in the dark anymore.

“Luke?” Michael said quietly and licked his lips.

“Hmm…”

“I… uhh… there’s something I need to tell you. Please don’t get mad at me or don’t hate me. I didn’t do it with the intention of hurting you. I’m not Alex, I’m Michael.”

“What do you mean, you’re not Alex?”

“I mean, I’m not Alex. Alex… huh… he’s out of town. I don’t know when he’ll be back. Our phones got exchanged and he couldn’t contact you. So, he told me to tell you he would be back as soon as he could. I didn’t want to pretend to be my brother but you came over and you mistook me for him and I tried to resist, I really did, but eventually, I just played along. Then things got more complicated and I realised I was falling for you and I did not want it to stop. I wanted to be with you and I knew that if you knew I was not Alex, it would not have been possible but I can’t lie to you anymore. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm…” Luke sighed as he stared at Michael.

“Say something, please.”

“Why? Why would you do that to me?” Luke looked at him with disappointed eyes as he tried to fake a hurt emotion. “What have I ever done to you? I can’t believe it.”

“I really am sorry,” Michael looked down at his hand with guilt.

“Michael, I need you to look at me now,” Luke said firmly. The moment they locked eyes, he leant in and pressed their lips together.

“You’re not mad at me?” Michael asked, the moment they pulled away.

“Funnily no.”

“Why not?”

“I knew already. I mean, at first, I thought it was just me, imagining things. Then, Ashton pointed a few things out and I wanted to make sure he was wrong. But guess what? He was not and I just played along because I like you too. I didn’t things to end between us because you’re not the one you supposedly were. So, I played along.”

“So, you were making a fool out of me too? Hmm… What are we gonna do now? I mean, when Alex gets back?”

“We’ll think about that later. Right now…” Luke pulled Michael into his lap. “I have a pretty good idea of what we could do.”

“Ok…”

“I love you, Michael.”

Michael sighed happily. “It feels so good to hear you say my name. I love you too,” he mumbled against Luke’s lips.

Luke put his fingers under Michael’s chin and kissed him while Michael wrapped an arm around his neck and buried his other hand into Luke’s hair. For the first time, there was nothing holding Michael back and he could kiss Luke however way he wanted; for the first time, he was kissing Luke without lying to him or without pretending to be someone else and it was the most amazing feeling he had ever felt. The hand that he had around the other boy’s neck trailed down his chest, to disappear under the bedsheet and that action caused Luke to gasp against his lips.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Both Luke and Michael looked in the direction of the intruder before Michael spoke. “Alex?”


	8. Ending?

Alex let go of his suitcase and dropped his duffel bag by his foot as he stared at them. Michael quickly moved away and, taking a deep breath, he lifted his eyes to look at his twin. By the look on his face, he could tell that Alex was furious and why should he not be? Anyone in his place would have been if they had walked in and seen their sibling all over their boyfriend. Although Alex had not mentioned when he would be back, Michael had not expected it to be that soon. When Alex made no move or said nothing, Michael got up and walked to him.

“Get away from me,” Alex shouted angrily and pushed Michael’s hand away when the latter tried to place the hand on his shoulder.

“Alex, I can explain…”

“What is there to explain? Everything is right in front of me,” Alex said on the same angry tone. “I do not wish to speak with you.”

Luke adjusted the bedsheet around his hips as Alex walked towards him. “Alex…”

“Luke, I am sorry. I didn’t know Michael would do something like this in my absence. I knew Michael loves switching places with me but I didn’t know he would pretend to be me behind my back and take advantage of my boyfriend.”

“Alex…” Michael said as he placed a hand on his shoulder from behind. “Please, listen to me. Just let me explain everything.”

“I told you, I don’t want to talk to you. Why don’t you understand?” Alex shoved him away and Luke immediately got to his feet, holding the sheet securely with one hand, while taking Alex’s hand in the other.

“Alex, will you please calm down?”

“How can I be calm after what he did? How can you be so cool after what Michael did to you? He used you,” Alex glared at his boyfriend. “Can you wear some clothes?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

Michael eyed Luke as he walked away and then turned his attention back to Alex. “It’s not at all what you’re thinking. Things just happened and…”

“Enough. How many lies are you gonna speak to cover up for what you’ve done?”

Michael ran his fingers through his messy hair as he tried to think of a way to explain to his brother how things had happened between him and Luke. If he thought back to how it had actually started, things had happened that way because of how Alex had suddenly decided to disappear for a while and had left everything for Michael to handle, including his boyfriend. Taking everything into consideration, it was mostly Alex’s fault. He again looked at his brother and realised Luke had joined him. Luke was standing beside Alex and it felt like he was the only one who was losing something, despite what Luke had said to him hours ago.

“Michael, I don’t want you to stay here anymore,” Alex crossed his arms over his chest.

“This is my house too.”

“No, this is my house and I let you stay here because you’re my twin but I don’t want you here anymore. Just go. Stop looking at Luke when I’m talking to you.”

“Yes, it was my fault and I don’t regret anything,” Michael spat. “I loved every moment of it and yes, I love Luke and there is nothing you can do about it. Kicking me out isn’t going to change anything or how I feel.”

“You little insolent. I always side you in everything and this is what I get in return? Just get out, Michael.”

“I will but only after hearing what Luke has to say,” Michael said while looking straight at Luke. Earlier Luke had told him that he knew he was not Alex and that he still loved him but at that moment, he was quietly standing there.

“What will he say? He is as much a victim as I am.”

“No,” Luke shook his head. “Look, we had some amazing time together but the little time that I’ve spent with Michael have been the best of my life. You were wrong when you said I was a victim. Michael has not used me. I knew it was him and not you and I knew what I was doing. I know he’s your brother but no one has ever made me feel things the way Michael has. I love him too.”

Alex jaw dropped and he stayed there quiet and unmoving.

“Alex, say something.”

“I trusted you, both of you, and you crushed my faith in my own house. Get the fuck out of my house, both of you.”

Michael walked to his room quietly and shoved everything back into his suitcases. He knew Alex and he knew it would take time but he also knew his brother would forgive them; he just needed to give him some space. When he walked back into the living room, Luke was no longer there but when he exited the building, he saw the other boy waiting outside.

“Hey, you’re still here?”

“I called Ashton. He’s coming to pick me up. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You?”

“I’m good I guess.”

“Don’t worry about Alex. He’ll come around. Do you think Ashton can drop me at Calum’s house? I guess I’ll be staying there for a few days until I find my own place.”

Luke took Michael’s hand into his. “Or you could come to stay with me. If you’d like to, of course.”

“What about Ashton? Won’t he mind?”

“Ashton?” Luke smiled. “No, Ashton likes you. So, will you come stay with me?”

“Yes. Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you xx


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